ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange

One of the many things we've enjoyed about working on Ubuntu User magazine is the new illustrations we get for each Ubuntu release. Our artist, Curt, is ready to pass the torch on to a new illustrator. If you'd like to have your art considered for our next issue of Ubuntu User, submit two sample drawings of a "Lucid Lynx" by March 22, 2010, 5pm CST (GMT -6).In one illustration, the Lucid Lynx critter should illustrate the theme "Networking," and in the other it should illustrate "Security." To see previous illustrations in action, check out the Discovery...

The Free Software Foundation's Deb Nicholson sent in the LibrePlanet announcement below. Deb also points to the travel fund link and says, "We recognize that women often don't have as much access to funding and wanted to make it easy for people to help bridge the gap. Maybe we can inspire other conference organizers to try something similar!" LibrePlanet 2010
The annual free software conference LibrePlanet is the place for the free software community – from old school hackers to brand new users – to come together and further the collective goals of the free software movement.This year's conference features a "Women's Caucus," a day-long track focusing on finding...

Today PHPWomen announced a new partnership program. According to their site:PHPWomen has launched a partnership program for open source projects that are committed to embracing diversity and providing a welcoming and friendly atmosphere for contributors. We work closely with project leaders to identify specific areas of need, and will actively encourage our members to participate by promoting those needs through various channels. In return, the project leaders will ensure that newcomers to their projects will be welcomed and their contributions appreciated. This includes fostering an open and friendly environment for all newcomers, not just females.Current partners include Spaz, Habari,...

In case you haven't seen my online grumblings or had the pleasure of hearing them in person, I'll repeat myself: Returning home from SCALE 8x in sunny L.A. to several inches of snow and well-below-freezing temperatures in Kansas is cruel and unusual punishment and I wonder what I did to deserve it. Now that I have that off my chest, I'd like to take a moment to thank the SCALE organizers, volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, and attendees for what we all agreed was the Best SCALE Ever. (At least until next year.) And a big welcome to all our new readers and subscribers!SCALE 8xOver on LXer, Scott posted a nice report from some of the WIOS talks. Malakia and Saskia Wade (offspring...

Greetings from sunny L.A.! I'm scurrying around before we finish setting up our Linux Pro and Ubuntu User booth, but I thought I'd post a quick update on the first day at SCALE 8x. It looks like attendance is up quite a bit over last year, which bodes well for both the event and the economy. Several old friends are noticeably absent and missed this year, while there are also a lot of new faces – I met several first-time SCALE attendees yesterday and a couple of first-time open source event attendees, too. SCALE is a great 'gateway' event for first-timers because if its relaxed atmosphere, affordability, and jam-packed schedule with options for everyone.That jam-packed schedule created...

March 24, 2010 is Ada Lovelace Day, "... an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science." This year the goal is to get 3072 pledges to blog, and if you'd like to join the 100+ names already on the pledge list, visit: http://findingada.com/And while we're on the topic of celebrating the achievements of women in technology and science, let's get back to my series of interviews that highlights women in open source. If you haven't emailed me your responses yet, here's your friendly reminder:
1. Who are you? (name/brief bio)
2. What do you currently do in open source? What do you...

Today the Linux Foundation announced that the LinuxCon 2010 Call for Papers and registration are now open. This year's event will be held August 10-12 in Boston, Massachusetts. I encourage you to submit a talk proposal to LinuxCon, and I encourage you to encourage someone else to submit one, too. In my 2009 LinuxCon event report, I wrote about the shortage of female speakers; hopefully I won't be able to say the same thing in my 2010 event report. If you didn't see any of our live streaming from LinuxCon 2009, you can watch the free keynote video archives at: http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/linuxconNow start working on that paper proposal – the deadline for submissions is March 31, 2010...